Research Question: What are the ins/outs and impacts of Education policies? What are the differences in various policies? Which ones are effective? Author: Ellie Beargeon Race to the top. (n.d.). Retrieved December 2, 2015, from https://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/education/k-12/race-to-the-top __https://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/education/k-12/race-to-the-top__
This article, posted on the White House website, gives a very detailed explanation of the Race to the Top initiative started by President Barack Obama in 2012. It outlines the four main objectives of the initiative, which is also the criteria that a plan developed by a school must address to receive funding. The article goes on to describe the 'District' version of Race to the Top which is a smaller scale version that in 2012 passed $400 million dollars out among school districts nation wide. As of right now, $4 billion dollars has been broken up among 19 states with education improvement plans that met the four objectives, with 34 other states working on revising their plans to receive the additional funding.
I enjoyed reading this article because it was much more positive and uplifting than the extensive research I did on the No Child Left Behind Act, which has a friendly name but is actually very discriminatory. Race to the Top has already made a large impact which was exciting! Of course, I had to keep in mind that because this was on a government server and web page, it would be written in a way that would portray Race to the Top as wonderful, but I actually think it was a good education initiative. Where does all that money come from though?? Jacques, R. (2013, December 9). 11 foreign education policies that could transform american schools. Retrieved December 2, 2015, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/09/foreign-education-policies_n_4385583.html __http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/09/foreign-education-policies_n_4385583.html__
For a more popular article, I chose this one from the Huffington Post, which details 11 Foreign Education Policies. It discusses the PISA test, which American students generally score in the middle on. The articles poses the question: "Why are American scores so mediocre?" And goes on to compare our policies to countries like Finland, which has shorter school days, higher teacher pays, and more 1-1 time for every student. However,the most interesting thing mentioned in the article was teaching American students how to conceptualize. " According to CNN's OECD special advisor on education policy, Andreas Schleicher, only two percent of American students can generalize and use advanced math in creative ways." It was interesting reading this because we spent so much time in class talking about things like deep learning.
This article is a thorough overview of the No Child Left Behind Act and the history of the ESEA. It also gives a timeline of updates of the ESEA, going all the way back to 1965.
Overall Reaction to Your Research
My research was extremely informative. I learned so much from the articles I've read; I had always heard of these education policies, and seen things about them on the news but never really know what they were all about. Now that I've had time to research them very thoroughly, and also read the books from class, I see that they aren't as well meaning as I always believed them to be.
How does this research help us identify or refine a strategy to improve schools in Rhode Island?
In my research, I learned that Rhode Island, and any state hoping to improve their overall quality of education has a longer way to go than I thought, and there is no clear-defined or simple answer, as I think I always hoped there would be. Education policies such as No Child Left Behind are in some ways hurting and hindering schools from improving, therefore making the act counterproductive.
Author: Ellie Beargeon
Race to the top. (n.d.). Retrieved December 2, 2015, from https://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/education/k-12/race-to-the-top
__https://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/education/k-12/race-to-the-top__
This article, posted on the White House website, gives a very detailed explanation of the Race to the Top initiative started by President Barack Obama in 2012. It outlines the four main objectives of the initiative, which is also the criteria that a plan developed by a school must address to receive funding. The article goes on to describe the 'District' version of Race to the Top which is a smaller scale version that in 2012 passed $400 million dollars out among school districts nation wide. As of right now, $4 billion dollars has been broken up among 19 states with education improvement plans that met the four objectives, with 34 other states working on revising their plans to receive the additional funding.
I enjoyed reading this article because it was much more positive and uplifting than the extensive research I did on the No Child Left Behind Act, which has a friendly name but is actually very discriminatory. Race to the Top has already made a large impact which was exciting! Of course, I had to keep in mind that because this was on a government server and web page, it would be written in a way that would portray Race to the Top as wonderful, but I actually think it was a good education initiative. Where does all that money come from though??
Jacques, R. (2013, December 9). 11 foreign education policies that could transform american schools. Retrieved December 2, 2015, from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/09/foreign-education-policies_n_4385583.html
__http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/09/foreign-education-policies_n_4385583.html__
For a more popular article, I chose this one from the Huffington Post, which details 11 Foreign Education Policies. It discusses the PISA test, which American students generally score in the middle on. The articles poses the question: "Why are American scores so mediocre?" And goes on to compare our policies to countries like Finland, which has shorter school days, higher teacher pays, and more 1-1 time for every student. However,the most interesting thing mentioned in the article was teaching American students how to conceptualize. "
According to CNN's OECD special advisor on education policy, Andreas Schleicher, only two percent of American students can generalize and use advanced math in creative ways." It was interesting reading this because we spent so much time in class talking about things like deep learning.
Klein, A. (2015, April 10). No child left behind overview: Definitions, requirements, criticisms, and more. Retrieved December 2, 2015, from http://www.edweek.org/ew/section/multimedia/no-child-left-behind-overview-definition-summary.html
__http://www.edweek.org/ew/section/multimedia/no-child-left-behind-overview-definition-summary.html__
This article is a thorough overview of the No Child Left Behind Act and the history of the ESEA. It also gives a timeline of updates of the ESEA, going all the way back to 1965.
No child left behind legislation and policies | u.s. department of education. (2011, December 15). Retrieved December 2, 2015, from http://www2.ed.gov/policy/elsec/guid/states/index.html?exp=4#nclb
__http://www2.ed.gov/policy/elsec/guid/states/index.html?exp=4#nclb__
This is the government official document that outlines the legislation and policies of the No Child Left Behind Act.
No child left behind. (n.d.). Retrieved December 2, 2015, from http://www2.ed.gov/nclb/landing.jhtml
__http://www2.ed.gov/nclb/landing.jhtml__
This is the government official document that outlines the No Child Left Behind Act.
Overall Reaction to Your Research
My research was extremely informative. I learned so much from the articles I've read; I had always heard of these education policies, and seen things about them on the news but never really know what they were all about. Now that I've had time to research them very thoroughly, and also read the books from class, I see that they aren't as well meaning as I always believed them to be.
How does this research help us identify or refine a strategy to improve schools in Rhode Island?
In my research, I learned that Rhode Island, and any state hoping to improve their overall quality of education has a longer way to go than I thought, and there is no clear-defined or simple answer, as I think I always hoped there would be. Education policies such as No Child Left Behind are in some ways hurting and hindering schools from improving, therefore making the act counterproductive.